James Whittier Parker: “Exactly. Now what I wanted to talk about tonight and why we have all joined together is talking about the death tax…”

“Exactly. Now what I wanted to talk about tonight and why we have all joined together is talking about the death tax, which I think is the most un-American tax that our Government has ever put on the American people. Understand, prior to 1916 the Federal Government had never used the death tax unless we were at war, and they used it because our exports were not as great, we did not have taxes that we could collect. So from a standpoint from national security, we used a death tax in order to get enough money in order to fight a war and remain free. That occurred until after the turn of this century in 1916. At that point we instigated a death tax which was very small, and it has increased over a period of time and it is now at a level of 55 percent at the top level. It does exactly what the President of the United States has said he does not want to do. The President of the United States, the Honorable Bill Clinton, has said over and over again, we do not want to have people who play by the rules, who get up every morning and go to work, who work hard, to be penalized. We want them to be treated fair. I agree with him. But what we have done as a Congress through the years is that we take people, and they are frugal, they save, they do without the luxuries, and they turn around and when they die, the Federal Government comes and says, ``We want what you have saved. We want to take what you have done your own self, by the sweat of your brow, we want it now.…”